MCB.ART

ABOUT

MCB.ART

MCB.ART

ABOUT

GameSpot • 2021

Gamespot @ Summer Games Fest 2022

Overview

Role(s): Lead Designer, Art Director


For now the 3rd year, the ESA chose to not hold a large scale event like in years past for E3. This allowed industry veteran Geoff Keighly to once again take the mantle of the summer months and present a slew of new games and coverage akin to the E3 of old. With that came the need for GameSpot to cover the event and present themselves alongside other industry leaders like IGN, Polygon and others


My Responsibilities:


• GS @SGF logo

• Thumbnail design strategy/execution

• Stream graphics strategy/execution

• Motion graphics art direction

• Promotional design strategy/execution

• Social design strategy/execution

Approach

Like with other designs I have made for these summer events, I wanted to lean into the coloring and imagery reminiscent of that time of the year. Instead of the usual sun, palm trees, beach vibes I wanted to go a slightly different route though. I came across some video assets of slow motion ink droplets and it sparked an idea to use them as the visual language for this event.


The end result was something that gave a lush backdrop to our coverage while still feeling vibrant, fresh and appropriate for the summer months. As a goof we also decided to lean into this summer event had replaced E3 as Geoff’s event so we had some fun with our own KEIGH 3 branding as a way to give the event a bit more personality as well.

Like with other designs i have made for these summer events, i wanted to lean into the coloring and imagery reminiscent of that time of the year. Instead of the usual sun, palm trees, beach vibes i wanted to go a slightly different route though. I came across some video assets of slow motion ink droplets and it sparked an idea to use them as the visual language for this event.


The end result was something that gave a lush backdrop to our coverage while still feeling vibrant, fresh and appropriate for the summer months. As a goof we also decided to lean into the fact that this summer event had basically replaced E3 as Geoff's event so we had some fun with our own KEIGH 3 branding as a way to give the event a bit more personality as well

The full collection of assets

the full collection of assets

A Wholistic Approach

An event as big as a Summer Game Fest or an E3 like in years past comes with a wide array of needs from a design standpoint. The on-air graphics for the show itself are the highest priority item but there still needs to be a visual representation of GameSpot's coverage on social platforms, on the website itself, and even on staff apparel.


Each of these comes with their own set of challenges but my goal is always to create a wholistic and unified look which I feel was well accomplished in this year's designs and presentation.

GameSpot’s coverage live on Twitch

gamespots coverage live on twitch

On Air Graphics

Like with any big on air event like this, its important in my opinion for a brand to represent themselves visually in a way that stands out, is polished and reminds you of why their coverage is amongst the best in the industry. With the overlay graphics for SGF I wanted to keep things as vibrant and colorful as possible like with the initial branding so i repurposed more of the paint drops as background mixed in with my own colored shapes

Thumbnail example for SGF

thumbnail example for sgf

Thumbnail example for SGF

thumbnail example for sgf

The Thumbnail Approach

Traditionally with thumbnails for events like this, there is a standard image + headline approach but for this version I wanted to lean on the artistic side of things instead while still addressing the needs of our editorial graphics.


The idea was to still maintain a strong primary image mixed with our SGF branding and keep more text off them. We had some options with text as well still for our editors to use if need be as seen above.

Traditionally with thumbnails for events like this, there is a standard image + headline approach but for this version i wanted to lean on the artistic side of things instead while still addressing the needs of our editorial graphics.


The idea was to still maintain a strong primary image mixed with our SGF branding and keep more text off them for the most part. We had some options with text as well still for our editors to utilize if need be as seen above

GameSpot live on Twitch

Gamespot live on twitch

IGN live on Twitch

IGN live on twitch

YouTube banner design

youtube banner design

Twitter banner design

twitter banner design

Social Channels

As with past events around E3 and the summer, theming the entire brand’s social channels with the event is a key piece in establishing a look that feels special and unified. From youtube to twitter to our instagram posts we had a consistent look that followed suit.

As with past events around E3 and the summer, theming the entire brand's social channels with the event is a key piece in establishing a look that feels special and unified. From youtube to twitter to our instagram posts we had a consistent look that followed suit

Livestream archive of SGF Day 1

live stream archive of sgf day 1

The motion graphics intro

the motion graphics intro

Motion Graphics At Work

Keeping with the organic, flowing nature of the ink drops, I directed my motion designer (Amy Kim) to take whatever liberties she wanted to so we could achieve that. We had limited time with Amy so a simple and short intro had to prioritized. What we delivered added subtle motion to our elements and a strong minimal reveal of our key graphics.

Keeping with the organic, flowing nature of the ink drops, i directed my motion designer (Amy Kim) to take whatever liberties she wanted to so we could achieve that. We had very limited time with Amy so a fairly simple and short intro had to prioritized. What we delivered in the end added subtle motion to our elements and a strong minimal reveal of our key graphics

Variations of the final shirt

variations of the final shirt

The final printed staff shirt

the final printed staff shirt

Having Fun With Geoff

Since Geoff Keighley has taken over this period of time from the ESA and E3’s past presence, we thought it would be fun to commemorate this time with a little fun brand integration. Myself and a producer on the video team came up with the idea to use Keigh 3 as our namesake and I went off to create this design after MANY iterations ranging from full on E3 logo ripoffs to more simple approaches.

Since Geoff Keighly has basically taken over this period of time from the ESA and E3's past presence, we thought it would be fun to commemorate this time with a little fun brand integration. Myself and a producer on the video team came up with the idea to use Keigh 3 as our namesake and i went off to create this design after MANY iterations ranging from full on E3 logo ripoffs to more simple approaches

Justin Vachon 2026

Justin Vachon 2026

Justin Vachon 2026